Joseph Fletcher (1905-1991) founded the theory of situational ethics in the 1960s, and was a pioneer in the field of bioethics. Fletcher was a leading academic involved in the topics of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, eugenics, and cloning. Ordained as an Episcopalian priest, he later renounced his belief in God and became an atheist.

Fletcher was a prolific professor, teaching, participating in symposia, and completing ten books, and hundreds of articles, book reviews, and translations. He taught Christian Ethics at Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and at Harvard Divinity School from 1944 to 1970. He was the first professor of medical ethics at the University of Virginia and co-founded the Program in Biology and Society there. He retired from teaching in 1977.

He served as president of the Euthanasia Society of America (later renamed the Society for the Right to Die ) from 1974 to 1976. He was also a member of the American Eugenics Society

Notable works

• 1954 Morals and Medicine N.J.: Princeton University Press (Discusses euthanasia.)
• 1966 Situation Ethics: The New Morality, Philadelphia: Westminster Press (Translated into 5 languages.)
• 1974 The Ethics of Genetic Control: Ending Reproductive Roulette. New York: Doubleday and Company (Discusses eugenic cloning.)

External links

• Bibliography